Marcos sees ‘design flaw,’ cost cutting in collapsed Isabela bridge

Metro Manila, Philippines - The design of the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in the province of Isabela and the government’s decision to minimize cost could be the reasons why the structure collapsed last month, leaving at least six people injured.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made this assessment after inspecting the bridge on Thursday, March 6.

"Ang puno’t dulo nito, design flaw. It is a design flaw, mali ‘yung design," said Marcos.

[Translation: The core issue here is the design flaw. It is a design flaw, the design is wrong.]

Marcos explained that the newly-inaugurated bridge was not supposed to be used by vehicles carrying more than 44 tons of load.

"So, this is a design problem. Tapos this is a 44-ton bridge. Dapat 44 tons ang acceptable load. Eh, ‘yung dalawang truck – ‘yan ‘yung naiwan ‘yung isa, over 100 tons ‘yan. Eh dalawa ‘yan ang dumaan. Kaya ayan na nga ang nangyari. Hindi talaga kaya," he added.

[Translation: So, this is a design problem. This is a 44-ton bridge. The acceptable load should be 44 tons. But the two trucks – one of them was over 100 tons. And both of them crossed. That’s why this happened. It really couldn't handle it.]

The president then revealed that the original cost of the bridge was around ₱1.8 billion, but the government slashed the budget to less than a billion to save costs.

"So, wala, we have no choice. We have to go back. So, ‘yung nagtitipid tayo, tinipid natin sa ₱1.8 billion, useless. Ngayon, babalik na naman tayo. Gagastos na naman tayo nang malaki," Marcos said.

[Translation: So, we have no choice. We have to go back. So, the savings we made by cutting the ₱1.8 billion budget was useless. Now, we will have to spend a lot again.]

Malacañang earlier said that based on the initial findings of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the structure suffered from “under-design.” Palace press officer Claire Castro added that 90 percent of the construction was completed during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Marcos stated that, for now, the government's priority is to repair the bridge.

"Ayusin muna natin ‘yung problema. Believe me, we will find out who is responsible," he said.

[Translation: Let’s fix the problem first. Believe me, we will find out who is responsible]

"Who is responsible is basically who made the design. ‘Cause their design was poor. Look what happened. And then also, those trucks should never have been on the bridge. So, sino’ng liable diyan, province?" he added.

[Translation: Who is responsible is basically the person who made the design. Because their design was poor. Look at what happened. And also, those trucks should never have been on the bridge. So, who is liable there, the province?]